Subj : Re: Protecting your code
To   : comp.programming
From : Arthur J. O'Dwyer
Date : Fri Jul 29 2005 02:30 pm


On Fri, 29 Jul 2005, MiniMe wrote:
>
> It is going to be commercial and I need the total controv over my
> work. Not sure that publishing this uder the open-source license will
> give me these things.

   Define "total controv [sic]."  Are you planning to release the code 
(either as readable source code or as executable, hence readable, binary)? 
Then you'll have to accept that people will read it, and if they're smart 
enough, they'll understand it. So if you're trying to publish something
/and/ keep it "secret" at the same time, you're doomed.
   There is one defense: Make your program suck so much nobody will bother 
to try and read it.

   Alternatively, you could simply /not publish/ your code. Then nobody but 
you will be able to see it.

   (The latter strategy isn't quite as sarcastic as it sounds. Several 
software companies these days are moving to a Web-based system; for 
example, instead of selling actual binary copies of a proprietary program 
and thus opening themselves up to reverse-engineering, they're just 
selling (or planning to sell) Web clients that connect to a server with a 
single copy of the proprietary program. Since the user never sees the 
program --- only its input and output protocols --- he can't 
reverse-engineer it. This is an elegant solution[1], if expensive.)

-Arthur

[1] - Not to imply I'm in favor of it. IMNSHO it's a pretty immoral 
approach to the digital world. And, practically speaking, unless you're 
Microsoft or Google it will be tantamount to the "don't publish it" 
approach --- nobody will use a product that inconveniences them that much 
for no benefit to the user.

.